From Maid to Mother - Chapter 5.3

Chapter 5.3

5-3: Lily’s Simple & Easy Recipes

TL: Krrizis

Editor: Shirani

First published on Ainushi

After seeing Cedric-kun off, I was alone in the kitchen stirring a pot filled with a viscous liquid .

「… What are you making?」

「Oh, Sid-san . Welcome home」

I thought he wouldn’t be home since he was out accompanying Leonard-sama today .

When I said it aloud to him in puzzlement, Sid-san replied with a wry laugh, “That’s how it was supposed to go” .

「I’ve got a request for you, ojou-chan」

「Which would be?」

「Could you make something suitable for master to eat?」

… Hmm? What is going on? Isn’t it long past lunchtime? Has he not ate yet?

「He insisted that he won’t eat anything other than your food for lunch . Earlier, you gave madeleines to Cedric-kun, right?」

「Ah, yes . And?」

「When master heard about that, he said that he wanted to eat some of your food as well since you made those for him」

Umm, I wonder how I should react to that . F-for now, I better get some decent food, not just sweets, for him .

「Is there anything in particular that he wants?」

「No . Anything’s fine . He eats anything as long as you’re giving it to him」

「… Very well . I’ll have them prepared right away」

I removed the pot that I’d been stirring over the fire . It was done and all that’s left was to bottle it up .

Whilst it was piping hot, I poured it into a jar and closed the lid . Yup . That looks divine . Close by, Sid-san was watching and inquired about that concoction .

「… So, what is this?」

「Apple jam」

In order to preserve it, I had boiled it down until it was a concentrate . Since I added heaps of sugar to it earlier, it shouldn’t take too long before it gels . Now then, what should I make?  

As Sid-san stared at the contents of jar with great interest, I looked at him in puzzlement as I asked a question .

「You’ll be bringing the lunch that I make over to him, aren’t you?」

「Yeah, although it will be a bit excessive if I bring a plate of soup over」

「In the first place, I wasn’t going to give you that」

Hmm~ But even if you tell me to make something quick…

For starters, I’ll check the bread we purchased today . It’s a reasonably soft baguette .

There’s lettuce and mayonnaise . I can use them to make a sandwich . It’s not much different from what I made previously though .  

「… Shall I boil prawns?」

Whilst I considered what to make, I quickly parboiled the prawns that had been deveined . Yup, I’ll just start up with these first .   

「Well then, please wait whilst I begin prepping right now」

First, I took out dry-cured ham and bierwurst sausage from the cold room . Also, some smoked salmon .

After which, I sliced them into thin slices and just layered them on the bread .

There were two varieties: dried cured ham with bierwurst sausage, and prawns with smoked salmon . Both of which had lettuce as well . As the ham and salmon are very salty, mayonnaise alone was enough to serve as the flavouring .     

Oh! I also bountifully spread my freshly made apple jam on thin slices of bread and rolled them up to make a rolled sandwich .

「Okay, it’s done」

「That’s quick . Though why is there so much?」

「It’s for two people」

When I answered him as I piled the basket with the sandwiches, Sid-san’s eyes wavered .  

「Why?」

「Aren’t you going to eat as well, Sid-san?」

“Here”, I said and when I passed the basket to him, Sid-san cast his eyes downwards for some reason .

「Do you not need any?」

「It’s not that… Sorry, I’m really happy」

Even though Sid-san had covered his face with one hand, I could see his red ears that he couldn’t conceal which in turn, made me blush . It made me feellt embarrassed after all .           

「Thanks, Lily . See you later」

「Oh, take care… Huh?」

Isn’t this the first time Sid-san called me by my name?

He just calls me “ojou-chan” all the time… Uwah! What’s going on? My heart’s thumping so fast it feels like it’s about to burst!

Yup, that surprise attack was mean . Hmm… Leaving that aside, what should I make for dinner tonight?

「Ketchup! I really want to make ketchup」

Ever since I made mayonnaise, I haven’t been able to suppress my desires for more food .  

Even so, I really want ketchup . Though if I were to say what I really desire, it’ll be soy sauce . This world that I was born in relies on just salt, pepper, and herbs for flavors so I’m completely craving after that great all-purpose soy sauce .    

Although there is tomato sauce, the garlic flavor is potent and isn’t palatable for children .

Ketchup has a sweetness to it’s flavor so kids will enjoy it… Until now, I wasn’t able to make a large batch in one full swing but here, I have the space to store it and there’s enough people to consume it . In the garden, there are also a bunch of ripened tomatoes . Alright~

「I’ve decided, I’ll make ketchup today . And for dinner, I’ll make hamburg!」

I had just bought minced meat as well when we were out shopping .

「What’s with that declaration? What’s ketchup and hamburg?」

「Catch-up?」

Milis and Jill asked, having turned up whilst I was agonizing over it . When did they get here? They weren’t here earlier when Sid-san was around… right?

On another note, hamburg is on my family’s restaurant’s menu but it’s doesn’t particularly sell well .

Well, it is a popular dish on the menu with children though so I’m sure Jill will like it . There’s plenty of things a child can do if we make this dish like kneading the meat, and she’ll be enjoying herself as she helps me out .  

「Well, look forward to it . Jill, Milis, I’ll be relying on both of you to assist me」

「Got it」

「I’ll help~!」

Yosh! Now that’s decided, let’s harvest the tomatoes first .

「Do you need to use this much?」

「Yes, thank you」

Together with Jill and Amdo-san, we plucked roughly twenty bright red tomatoes . Amdo-san was astonished by the volume but it still might not be enough even with this much .

「Lily, I’ve heated a big pot of water like you told me to . But, what are you going to use it for?」

「We’ll use the hot water to take the skin off the tomatoes . Can you fill the large pot over there with ice water?」

「Sure… How do you ‘peel the skin off using hot water’?」

「Well, watch this」

I picked a tomato that had been thoroughly washed, deposited it into the pot of hot water, then retrieved it after twenty seconds had roughly lapsed and immediately cooled it in ice water . The skin came off easily when I lightly peeled the burst open skin .       

「This is how it works . The heat causes the flesh to expand whilst the skin shrinks」

「That’s interesting」

「Jill, do you want to help too? It’s very hot so be careful」

「Okay!」

Jill got on a stool and answered with a smile .  

Earnest at her task to peel the skin off using hot water, she was considerably exhausted by the time she finished with all of them . It’s going to be tough on her as there’s more to come . With a fine mesh, strain the tomatoes through it till it runs smooth, add in one whole grated onion and mix them over a high flame .   

「Milis, to avoid burning it, use a wooden spatula to stir it about」

「Sure . I won’t let it burn」

Stirring was also unexpectedly tiring . Before Milis was worn out by it, I have to get the other seasonings ready . Salt, pepper, a small amount of vinegar, garlic, one and a half cups of sugar and a bit of herbs .

「Lily, how long do I need to keep stirring this for?」

「Until about half is left」

In my previous life, the impetus to make this was when a lady in the neighbourhood had picked too many tomatoes and gave them to me . In order to fully utilize them, I looked in the library for ways of using them . The ketchup I produced was more flavorful to my liking than the any of the store-bought products .    

Since then, I always use the tomatoes we got annually from the lady to make ketchup . I miss those days…

「Lily, is this enough?」

Oops, I got somewhat distracted . Umm, let’s see how it looks .

「Ah, that looks good! Alright, now we just mix in the remaining ingredients and pop them into the jars over here . 」

The jars had been thoroughly sterilized . By the way, these jars can be used multiple times so I’d used one of the empty jars for Leonard-sama’s staled jam . So far, I’ve added dried herbs to the sauce . I’d gotten Sid-san’s approval to use as I quote, “However much you like” .       

Now, we toss the balance of the seasonings in and boil it all .

「Hmm, like this?」

Boil it until the liquid has reduced to roughly half its’ size, then use a saucer to sample the flavor . … Mmm, delicious . It’s a little sweet however it’s just the right amount for Jill’s palate .   

「Okaa-san, is it ready?」

「Yep . That’s right, how about all of you give it a try?」

After that, I decided to try and make french fries . Speaking of ketchup, the strongest image I associate it with is french fries and they’re easy to make too .

「Okaa-san, it’s delicious!」